From food drives to Turkey Trots, the holiday season is a time filled with charitable opportunities. Throughout the month of November, members of the Convent of the Sacred Heart community have committed themselves to giving back by helping local charities.
Pau Barbosa ’18
Various charities in Connecticut and New York organize multiple food drives and fundraisers which offer opportunities to give back. At these fundraisers, people of all backgrounds volunteer, including members of the Sacred Heart community.
The heads of the Community Service Club, seniors Tori Carley and Devika Arjoon, and junior Abi Shea, hosted the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive for the Upper School, November 7 through Monday, November 23. The food drive collects canned goods for Neighbor to Neighbor and the Carver Center, and food gift cards for Casa Esperanza.
The Thanksgiving Food Drive is a competition between each Upper School advisory. Each pound of collected food is one point for that advisory, expired food is negative five points, and gift cards are ten points per dollar.
In conclusion of the food drive, the advisory with the most points wins a pizza lunch, and the grade with the most points earns a civvies day.
“I enjoy giving back to people who are in need of love and care; it’s part of the golden rule: do to those what you wish for them to do for you,” Tori said. “This food drive brings our community closer in the sense of appreciating what we have and becoming educated on the reality others face.”
This year the Martone advisory won a pizza lunch with 1,944 points and the junior class won a civvies day with 6,622 points. The food drive ended Monday, November 23 with over 500 pounds of food collected and over $1,800 donated in gift cards to Casa Esperanza.
Saturday, November 28, Sacred Heart alumna Sarah Jackmauh ‘15 and her family will volunteer at the Greenwich Alliance Turkey Trot at Arch Street, the Greenwich Teen Center in Connecticut.
The Turkey Trot is an annual one-mile fun run/walk event and five-kilometer race that raises money for the Greenwich Alliance for Education, which raises money to provide opportunities and services that foster educational success for all Greenwich Public School students.
During Sarah’s third year as a volunteer, she will be working the volunteer desk with her mother, Mrs. Leissa Jackmauh.
“I want for every high school student to be able to experience such a great high school education—like mine at CSH—and a great future in secondary education,” Sarah said. “I think that Goal 3—social awareness which impels to action—is shown through our contributions to the Trot. I always see CSH students and alumnae (and even spotted Mrs. Collins once) at the finish line and during the race. I think that events like this show our school’s mission and also bring Greenwich together.”
For the past five years, Executive Assistant to the Head of School Ms. Nancy DePalma, has volunteered to serve Thanksgiving meals to the less fortunate at the First Presbyterian Church in Ossining, New York. She serves dinner at the church alongside her family.
“When I see the leadership of Mrs. Lori Wilson in managing the community service here at Sacred Heart, it has inspired me to get involved and do more,” Ms. DePalma said.
In addition to volunteering at the church, the DePalma family also donates a turkey to St. Christopher’s Inn in Graymoor, New York. St. Christopher’s Inn is a temporary homeless shelter that is dedicated to the rehabilitation of men in crisis. The family also makes donations of clothing and household items to the “That Nothing Be Lost” Thrift Shop which raises money and provides vocational experience for the men staying at the Inn.
“CSH influences its community when it comes to giving back. Our Mission calls us to be people for others so that is inspiring, but for me what makes me want to create a better world is seeing others, students, make a difference,” Director of Campus Ministry Mrs. Lori Wilson said.
– Pau Barbosa, Staff Writer
Lori Wilson • Nov 23, 2015 at 3:35 pm
Beautifully done, Pau!!!! The school should be proud of the work they’ve done.